Separator and conveyor means for light printing machines



F. H. FRANTZ Feb. 4, 1958 SEPARATOR AND CONVEYOR MEANS FOR LIGHT PRINTING MACHINES Original Filed Sept. 4. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR FREDERICK H FRANTZ lfci &

ATTORNEYS SEPARATOR AND CONVEYOR MEANS FOR LIGHT PRINTING MACHINES Original Filed Sept. 4. 1951 F. H.- FRANTZ Feb. 4, 1958 2 Shets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

INVENTOR FREpER/CK h. FRANTZ mm i ATTORNEYS SEPARATOR AND CONVEYOR MEANS FOR LIGHT PRINTING MACHINES Frederick H. Frantz, Binghamton, N. Y., assignor to General Aniline & Film Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Original application September 4, 1951, Serial No. 244,924. Divided and this application October 2, 1953, Serial No. 383,905

1 Claim. (Cl. 271-64) This invention relates to light printing or duplicating machines of the type employing diazo sensitized materials, and more particularly to mechanisms in such machines for separating the original from the sensitized material and for conveying these to different locations, respectively.

Machines of the type indicated are widely employed in industry for making exact duplicates oftranslucent originals, such as drawings or letters, and deliver a positive photo-copy which can immediately be used without further processing or drying. For this reason, these machines are generally termed dry printing and developing machines, known by the trade name Ozalid to dis tinguish them from other types where the exposed material is liquid developed and thereafter must be dried before it can be used.

The Ozalid type machines have generally three distinct functional assemblies combined into one operating unit. In the first assembly, designated as the printer, the sensitized material, in contact with an original, is exposed to high intensity light. In the second assembly, known as the separator-conveyor unit, the material is separated from the original and conveyed to the developer while the original is delivered at a predetermined location into a suitable receiving tray. The third assembly is the developer where the exposed sensitized material is subjected to the vapors of a volatile developing agent, such as heated aqueous ammonia and thereafter delivered by the conveyor into a print delivery receiving tray.

This invention is particularly directed to the conveyorseparator assembly of the machine wherein the original, in contact with the exposed sensitized sheet material, is conveyed from the printer to a point of separation. At this point the original is separated from the exposed sheet and conveyed toward the receiving tray into which it is deposited. On the other hand, the exposed sheet, separated from the original, is conveyed toward the developing portion so as to be moved past the perforated side of the developing tank.

Accordingly, the primary object of this invention is to provide a simple, yet expedient, instrumentality effecting separation of the original from the sensitized material and convey these into different portions of the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a suction chamber of particular construction and configuration which will insure adherence of the sensitized material without influencing the original and enhance the separation of the latter.

A further object of the invention is to provide a suction roller of improved construction for holding the original and guiding it toward a receiving tray.

A particular feature of this invention is that the separation of the original from the sensitized material is abrupt at the point of separation insuring complete removal of originals irrespective of the thickness of the material.

Another feature of the invention is that separation may be prevented, and the print returned, by a simple mechanism at the command of the operator if it is desired 2,822,170 Patented ch. 4, 1958 2 to remove both the original and the sensitized material Without developing the latter.

Other objects and features will be apparent from the following description of the invention, pointed out in particularity in the appended claim and taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational, sectional view of the various assemblies forming the light printing machine;

Figure 2 is a view of the suction roller which retains the original;

Figure 3 is a side elevational, sectional view of the suction chamber in relation to the suction roller with a sensitized material being retained by it;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 with the sensitized material being deflected by the print return mechanism, and

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the assembly shown in Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, in the sectional view of Figure 1, the housing 6 of the machine is shown merely in outline to indicate that the components are supported and arranged in a housing which surrounds all the working parts.

The various controls for the operation of the machine and the power drive, which may be a suitable type of electric motor, are not shown for the sake of simplicity of illustration since the invention is not concerned with these components.

The printer assembly located near the bottom of the machine includes a printing cylinder 8 which is rotatably supported in any convenient manner. A suitable light source 9 within the cylinder 8 is slidably supported between the brackets 10 and 10 aflixed to an enclosure 11 which forms an air duct for the circulation and exhaust of cooling air to insure proper temperature for both the light source 9 and the printing cylinder 8. The cooling duct may be of the type described in the application of Frederick O. Trump, Serial No. 220,474, now Patent No. 2,690,106, entitled Printing Lamp and Cylinder Cooling Means.

A plurality of porous endless conveyor belts 12, arranged side by side, partially surround the cylinder and travel over rollers 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 distributed at strategic points to form a transport from the cylinder 8 toward the separating and developing assemblies of the machine. The roller 13 is located near the material receiving end of the machine, there being a feedboard 19 in the proximity of the roller 13 extending from the housing 6. This board forms the support for the original and the sensitized material as they are inserted into the machine to be passed over the surface of the printing cylinder 8.

A secondary conveyor comprises several endless belts 20, arranged side by side, and traveling over roller 21, tensioning roller 22 and suction roller 23. Over a portion of this travel, the two belts 12. and 20 run parallel and in contact with each other, forming a conveying passage. The separating assembly is located within this portion and comprises two suction elements. The one which deflects the sensitized material is a triangularly shaped suction chamber 24, and the other which deflects the original is the above mentioned suction roller 23.

The entry into the separator assembly is between rollers 17 and 21. Here, the sensitized material, as well as the original, will enter after being stripped from the surface of the printing cylinder 8. A plurality of stripping fingers 26, of special configuration, are arranged alongside the printing cylinder 8 and in contact therewith. Each finger is biased by the spring 27 and pivots over a shaft 28 extending between the side Walls of the machine.

The suction chamber 24 has a perforated side 25 over which pass the porous belts 12 as they travel be- 3 tween the rollers 16 and 17. Above roller 16, in the upper portion of the machine, is placed the developing tanlt 29 which has a curved perforated wall 30. An endless, non-porous belt, generally termed the sealing sleeve 31, completely covers the perforated wall 30 as it travels over rollers 32, 32 and 33.

Within the tank 29 is placed the evaporator tray 35, having an electrical heater rod 36 placed thereabove. An auxiliary heater rod 37 may also be located near the perforated wall 39 to superheat the ammonia vapors. The tray 35 is supplied with aqua ammonia in any suitable manner, not shown here, and the ammonia within the tray is vaporized by the heater rod 36. The gaseous medium so produced passes through the perforations of the wall 30 so as to induce the required chemical reaction in the exposed sensitized material which is passed along and in contact with the wall by means of the traveling sealing sleeve 31.

Part of the wall 311 is not perforated and extends over and above tank 29. This portion of the wall has an inturned end or lip 39 engaging the bottom of the print receiving tray 40, which at the point of junction is rounded and preferably welded to the tank 29. The upper wall 41 of the tank 29, together with the print receiving tray 40, and a laterally extending wall 42, form an enclosure for a heater rod 43 located near the nonpertorated extension of the wall 30. The particular construction of this portion of the tank 29, and the placement of a heater rod, constitute an improvement which is particularly described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 252,606, now abandoned, entitled Apparatus for Light Printing and Developing Diazo Type Paper.

The separating and conveying portion of the machine will now be described in greater detail.

As mentioned above, the conveying belts 12 and run in contact with each other over a portion of their travel and thereby form a conveying passage from the printing or light exposing portion toward the point of separation. In this passage the original, in contact with the now exposed sensitized sheet material, is conveyed between co-engaging surfaces of belts 12 and 20, respectively. Within this passage extends the lower portion of the perforated wall of the suction chamber 24 and, facing this, a portion of the suction roller 23.

The suction chamber 24, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4, consists of an enclosure having a front wall 25 which forms an obtuse angle, the apex of which is located near the point of separation. The back wall 52 of this chamber is of curved construction having a generally parabolic shape which allows easy fitting of this unit into the general assembly. A lateral wall 53 is provided with an opening 54 for the air duct through which air is exhausted from the inside of the chamber, thereby maintaining a negative pressure.

Within the chamber 24 is the print removal mechanism which comprises a plurality of supporting plates 57 atlixed to the back wall of the chamber and extending in a downward direction. A shaft 58 is journalled in suitable apertures in the plates 57 and carries a plurality of fingers 59, the edges of which face the upper portion of the perforated wall 25.

As seen in Fig. 5, slots 60 in the wall 25 permit the fingers 59 to be moved outwardly. This may be ac: complished by the operator of the machine by means of the bar 63, equipped with a handle 64, and running through the suction chamber 24. The bar 63 is attached to the lever 65 affixed to the shaft 58. A catch 66, attached to the housing 6, provides support for the bar 63 as well as a stop by means of the notch 67 when the bar 63 is pulled out. The active position of the print removing mechanism is illustrated in Fig. 4, showing the fingers 59 extending from the wall 25 of the chamber 24 and engaging the sheet material 68 so that it will follow the original 69 into the tray 24.

The purpose of the print removal mechanism will be further explained in connection with the description of the separator-conveyor portion of the machine.

Fig. 5 further illustrates the construction and opera tion of the suction chamber 24 and suction roller 23 as seen when viewing the apparatus facing the perforated side 25 of the chamber 24, as shown in Fig. 3.

Reference should now be had primarily to Fig. 2 which shows the suction roller 23 in greater detail. As can be seen, the roller 23 extends between the side walls 6 of the machine, being rotatable in bearings 62 aifixed to the walls 6. It consists of an elongated, hollow, tubular structure having a plurality of raised, peripheral rings 70 and 70, equidistantly spaced in alternating order of separation. Adjacent rings 70 and 70', forming a pair, are relatively closely spaced, defining a narrow groove between them Whereas rings 70 of each pair are spaced at a relatively greater distance. In this space run the belts 20 which drive the roller 23.

This construction eliminates the need of utilizing perforated belts and does not depend on suction through the belts for retaining the material to be conveyed. Suction through porous belts is often troublesome due to the fact that belt perforations do not always match the wall perforations.

As Seen in Fig. 2, suction may be applied to the roller 23 through the opening 73 provided in the wall 6 by means of a flexible hose, not shown here, which may be clamped over the fitting 74.

As mentioned before, and seen in Fig. l, the belts 20 are driven by the roller 21, the tension being maintained by tensioning roller 22 which is seen partially cut away in Fig. 2. A receiving tray 44 extends in the direction tangential to the roller 23 and is provided with a plurality of pickoff fingers 72 which extend between the space of adjacent rings 70. In view of the fact that the fingers 72 run in a groove formed by the rings 70, they are below the material to be conveyed and assure defi' nite removal of the latter into the tray 4-4.

The suction chamber 24, as described above, has a perforated wall 25 which is bent at an angle, the apex of which is near the point of separation. This shape of the wall 25 is important in the elficient functioning of separation, inasmuch as it provides for an abrupt change in the force tending to hold the sensitized material and the original together as they pass the conveying passage. The lower portion of the wall 25 of the suction chamber 24 extends into the conveying passage and the force exerted through suction tends to hold the original and the sensitized material together aside from the pressure exerted by the belts 12 and 20. Since the material is generally paper and somewhat porous, the negative pressure in the chamber will also influence the original in that there is some leakage through the sensitized material. However, when the point of separation is reached, the angle of the upper portion of the wall 25 provides a sharp and abrupt break. The sensitized material, being against the wall of this chamber, follows the inclined wall but the leakage suction force, tending to hold the original against the sensitized material, is now greatly diminished due to the sudden change in direction provided by the inclined wall of the suction chamber. This assures positive separation of even very thin originals constraining them to easily follow the curvature of the suction roller to which they adhere, being in direct contact with the perforated rings while it'passes along the wall 30 through the action of the ammonia vapors. Thereafter, the sheet material is subjected to the heating and pressing action at the point 38 Where the sealing sleeve 31 passes the extension of the wall 30, as described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 252,606 filed October 23, 1951. The sheet is then deflected over the guide 47 so as to fall into the print receiving tray 40.

This is a division of my abandoned application Serial No. 244,924 filed September 4, 1951 entitled Paper Pickofi and Guide Means for Light Printing Machines.

I claim:

In a light printing and dry developing apparatus wherein the original to be reproduced and the sensitized sheet material are superimposed in contact with each other for light exposure, means for separating the original from the sensitized material after exposure and conveying said material to the developing portion of said apparatus which comprise two distinct sets of endless, moving, conveying belts, at least one of which is pervious to air, and each set consisting of a plurality of flat belts arranged in a plane coextensive with the width of said sheet material, said belts of each set having surfaces engaging each other over a predetermined distance of their travel forming a conveying passage for said original in contact with said sensitized sheet maaterial from the printing portion of said apparatus to the point of separation, a suction chamber disposed at the point of separation, said suction chamber having a perforated wall against which said pervious belts travel, said wall being bent at an obtuse angle, the apex of which is at said point of separation, and one side extending along a portion of said wall extending along said conveying passage and the other side inclined toward said developing portion and means for overriding said first mentioned means comprising a plurality of slits in said last mentioned side spaced between said belts communicating With the interior of said chamber, finger blades adapted to be moved between said slits in the direction perpendicular to said Wall, a lever for moving said blades Whereby, upon actuation of said lever, said material is constrained against the negative pressure of said chamber to move away from said wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,904,591 Wilson Apr. 18, 1933 1,968,941 Hall Aug. 7, 1934 1,980,188 Cullen Nov. 13, 1934 2,292,521 Horn Aug. 11, 1942 2,352,983 Trump July 4, 1944 2,375,241 Lindgren May 8, 1945 2,641,980 Brunk June 16, 1953 

